Description
This textbook is designed as a practical approach to understanding the health of women in a maternity context and the health of their newborns. Women in our society are becoming empowered to make informed and responsible choices regarding their health and that of their children, but to do so they need the encouragement and support of nurses who care for them. This textbook focuses on the reproductive issues of women throughout the lifespan and arms the student or practicing nurse with essential information to care for women and their families, to assist them to make the right choices safely, intelligently, and with confidence.
Organization
Each chapter of this textbook reviews an important dimension of a woman’s general health throughout her life cycle and addresses risk factors, lifestyle choices that influence her well-being, appropriate interventions, and nursing education topics to preserve her health and that of her newborn.
The text is divided into eight units.
Unit 1: Introduction to Maternity, Newborn,
and Women’s Nursing
Unit 1 helps build a foundation for the student beginning the study of maternal-newborn and women’s health nursing by exploring contemporary issues and trends and community-based nursing.
Unit 2: Women’s Health Throughout the Lifespan
Unit 2 introduces the student to selected women’s health topics, including the structure and function of the reproductive system, common reproductive concerns, sexually transmitted infections, problems of the breast, and benign disorders and cancers of the female reproductive tract. This unit encourages students to assist women in maintaining their quality of life, reducing their risk of disease, and becoming active partners with their health care professional.
Unit 3: Pregnancy
Unit 3 addresses topics related to normal pregnancy, including fetal development, genetics, and maternal adaptation to pregnancy. Nursing management during normal pregnancy is presented in a separate chapter encouraging application of basic knowledge to nursing practice. This nursing care chapter covers maternal and fetal assessment throughout pregnancy, interventions to promote self-care and minimize common discomforts, and patient education.
Unit 4: Labor and Birth
Unit 4 begins with a chapter on the normal labor and birth process, including maternal and fetal adaptations. This is followed by a chapter discussing the nurse’s role during normal labor and birth, which includes maternal and fetal assessment, pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic comfort measures and pain management, and specific nursing interventions during each stage of labor and birth.
Unit 5: Postpartum Period
Unit 5 focuses on maternal adaptation during the normal postpartum period. Both physiologic and psychological aspects are explored. Paternal adaptation is also considered. This unit also focuses on related nursing management, including assessment of physical and emotional status, promoting comfort, assisting with elimination, counseling about sexuality and contraception, promoting nutrition, promoting family adaptation, and preparing for discharge.
Unit 6: The Newborn
Unit 6 covers physiologic and behavioral adaptations of the normal newborn. It also delves into nursing management of the normal newborn, including immediate assessment and specific interventions as well as ongoing assessment, physical examination, and specific interventions during the early newborn period.
Unit 7: Childbearing at Risk
Unit 7 shifts the focus to at-risk pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum care. Pre-existing conditions of the woman, pregnancy-related complications, at-risk labor, emergencies associated with labor and birth, and medical conditions and complications affecting the postpartum woman are covered. Treatment and nursing management are presented for each medical condition. This organization allows the student to build on a solid foundation of normal material when studying the at-risk content.
Unit 8: The Newborn at Risk
Unit 8 continues to focus on at-risk content. Issues of the newborn with birth weight variations, gestational age variations, congenital conditions, and acquired disorders are explored. Treatment and nursing management are presented for each medical condition. This organization helps cement the student’s understand-ing of the material.
Recurring Features
In order to provide the instructor and student with an exciting and user-friendly text, a number of recurring features have been developed.
Key Terms
A list of terms that are considered essential to the chapter’s understanding is pre-sented at the beginning of each chapter. Each key term appears in boldface, with the definition included in the text. Key terms may also be accessed on ThePoint.
Learning Objectives
Learning Objectives included at the beginning of each chapter guide the student in understanding what is important and why, allowing him or her to prioritize information for learning. These valuable learning tools also provide opportunities for self-testing or instructor evaluation of student knowledge and ability.
WOW
Each chapter opens with inspiring Words of Wisdom, which offer helpful, timely, or interesting thoughts. These WOW statements set the stage for each chapter and give the student valuable insight into nursing care of women and newborns.